Xavier Stearn is bound for Rutgers. But first the Germantown Academy QB has a record to chase.

Xavier Stearn is chasing history in one of America’s oldest prep school leagues.

The rising senior quarterback at Germantown Academy, who recently committed to Rutgers, has his sights set on the Inter-Academic League’s career passing yardage record. While the Inter-Ac itself is 138 years old, the league’s passing yardage was set in 2017 by Penn Charter’s Michael Hnatkowsky (6,172 yards).

Through two seasons as the starter, Stearn has thrown for 4,516 yards. He needs 1,657 to pass Hnatkowsky.

“I’ve pretty much broken everything at GA,” Stearn said. “That would be a big goal for me, just because the Inter-Ac is such a prestigious league that’s been around for a while. I feel like that would be really special, to break it. Especially in my senior year.”

Stearn will chase the record under a new offense. After finishing 4-6 and 0-5 in Inter-Ac play in Kyle Donahue’s first season as head coach last year, Donahue brought in Greg Isdaner to reshape the Patriots’ offense. Isdaner, who played guard at West Virginia, was most recently the offensive coordinator at the Haverford School.

“[Isdaner] built this offense with Xavier in mind,” Donahue said. “He built this offense with Xavier learning every cadence, every single detail. … That to me is my goal as a coach, is to expose him to all these different things.”

Stearn will be free to chase the record with his college recruitment process behind him.

The 6-foot-6, three-star prospect drew interest from Rutgers last summer. Kirk Ciarrocca, the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, visited Germantown to see Stearn throw. But the Scarlet Knights were also recruiting another Philadelphia area quarterback in the class of 2026, La Salle’s Gavin Sidwar.

Last summer, Sidwar committed to Rutgers on July 1. He withdrew his pledge on Oct. 27 and committed to Missouri in April. Ciarrocca came back to Germantown in May to watch Stearn throw again. The Scarlet Knights extended an offer on May 17.

“He really liked how I threw,” Stearn said. “A couple days after he called me and set up a call with [Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano], and then they offered me maybe a week after he saw me throw.”

Stearn took an official visit to Rutgers on May 30 and committed the next day. He said he valued the opportunity to continue his football career at a Big Ten school within a couple hours drive to home.

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“I have a majority of closer offers, and then I had some far ones, too,” Stearn said. “Rutgers is the best of both worlds. It’s awesome football, it’s a great education and it’s close. It was really a perfect fit for me.”

Stearn chose Rutgers over offers from Penn, Eastern Michigan, Tulsa and UConn, among others.

Donahue and Stearn had a conversation the summer before the 2023 season, when Stearn stepped into the starting role as a sophomore. Stearn told Donahue, then offensive coordinator, that he intended to play in the NFL one day.

“I fully supported that, but I’d be lying if two years ago I wasn’t like, ‘Hey, let’s just worry about high school and college,’” Donahue said.

Donahue, who has known Stearn since he was in middle school, can see Stearn’s goal eventually becoming reality. He calls Stearn “the best quarterback in the state of Pennsylvania.”

“I really do believe he’s going to be playing on Sundays,” Donahue said. “He’s gotten better. He’s going to have a phenomenal fall season for us, and then I know he’s going to go develop at Rutgers.”

Part of that growth has been Stearn’s commitment to the weight room. Donahue said Stearn put on about 20 pounds of muscle in between last summer and this spring.

“Getting bigger, faster, stronger every year,” Stearn said. “I felt like that was my biggest jump last year. From sophomore to junior year, I just felt a lot faster, stronger. I feel like that really shows on my tape.”

» READ MORE: Germantown Academy QB Xavier Stearn is coming off a record-setting season, and he’s not done yet

When Rutgers extended a spot to Stearn, it was because of his growth as an athlete since the school started recruiting him.

“If he would have just stayed as that quarterback, I don’t know if he’d be going to Rutgers,” Donahue said. “What he did was become stronger, and more athletic, and be able to run instead of being a 6-6 giraffe who’s growing into their body. … The last time [the Rutgers staff] saw him five weeks ago, they went, ‘Holy cow, look how much better he’s gotten.’”

Before Stearn packs up for North Jersey, he will play his senior season at Germantown. The Patriots were a combined 0-10 in Inter-Ac play in Stearn’s first two seasons. Their last league win came in November 2022 against rival Penn Charter.

Donahue is hopeful that Germantown’s new look offense will help the Patriots win later into the season. He says Isdaner’s offense features more tight ends, and a balanced run game that Donahue thinks will allow the Patriots to control the clock.

“Where we started was Inter-Ac wins,” Donahue said. “How do we win games in our league? We tried to create a formula that we think can do that. Now, we’ve got to go do it.”

Whether or not Stearn can chase down the Inter-Ac career passing yardage record, he’s grateful to have played in the league at Germantown.

“There’s been a bunch of great players in this league,” Stearn said. “It’s just super special to be a part of and something that is super important to me and my family.”